Method and a machine for manufacturing filter tip cigarettes



B. SCHUBERT Nov. 28, 1961 METHOD AND A MACHINE FOR MANUFACTURING FILTER TIP CIGARETTES Original FiIed Jan. 30, 1957 INVENTOR. .Berflfiard ,Sckaerl United States Patent Ofifice 3,51%,457 Patented Nov. 28, 19 51 3,019,457 METHOD AND A MAiZHINE FOR MANUFAQ- TUBING FILTER TIP CIGARETTES Bernhard Schubert, Hamburg-Lohbrugge, Germany, assignor to Kurt Korber & Co., K.G., Hamburg-Bangsdorl, Germany ()rlginal application Jan. 30, 1957, Ser. No. 637,199. Divided and this application Jan. 14, 1960, Ser. N 2,459 Claims priority, application Germany Feb. 23, 1956 5 Claims. (Cl. 131-94) This invention relates to filter tip cigarettes provided with a filter mouthpiece having a hollow space provided on the side of the mouthpiece facing the smoker. This type of cigarette is conventionally called recessed filter tip cigarettes.

This invention also relates to a method and machine for manufacturing cigarettes of this type and is a division of the application Serial No. 637,199 filed on January 30, 1957, now abandoned.

it is an object of the invention to provide an improved method of manufacturing of recessed filter tip cigarettes which will produce filter tip cigarettes of improved appearance and quality.

Another object of the invention is to provide a cigarette machine for use in the manufacturing of recessed filter tip cigarettes which is efiicient and economical in its performance.

According to the present invention, the filter plug of the cigarette projects from its tubular wrapper towards the adjacent end of the cigarette body into a hollow space provided between the cigarette body and the tubular wrapper of the filter body, whereby the end of this projecting filter plug abuts the cigarette body to which it is connected by the connecting band uniting the cigarette body with the tubular wrapper of the filter tip mouthpiece.

This inventive arrangement will eliminate the rough passage from the soft cigarette body to the stifi tubular wrapper and will provide two transient stages for this connection. This first stage will be provided between the soft cigarette body and the stifif web of the filter-plug material projecting into the hollow space between the cigarette body and the tubular wrapper. The second stage of this connection will be provided by the passage from said relatively stifi filter plug material and the stiff tubular wrapper. The tubular Wrapper will then be held in place by the filter plug and the connecting band, so that the danger of breaking or buckling will be eliminated.

A further advantage of the present invention is that the previously necessary separate manufacture of the recessed filter-tip mouthpiece can be eliminated. It was known in the art of manufacturing recessed filter tip cigarettes to produce separately recessed filter tip with a hollow space at the end of the filter tip body facing the smoker by only partly filling the tubular wrapper mouthpiece with the filter body material and subsequently connecting these finished separately produced filter tip mouthpieces to the cigarette bodies,

The recessed filter tip mouthpieces are not available commercially and were manufactured on special machines. It was known in the art of manufacturing recessed filter tip mouthpieces to produce hollow spaces at the end of the mouthpieces while after the filter tips were connected to the cigarette bodies, the filter plugs in the enclosing tubular wrappers were compressed to the desired extent. But this method of manufacturing was also unsatisfactory because the compression of the filter body material increased the density of the filter plug material in the tubular wrapper, thus increasing the sucking re Istance of the mouthpiece. This method could be used only with the compressible filter plug material.

A still further advantage of the present invention is the possibility of eliminating the gluing of the filter plug to the enclosing tubular wrapper which was necessary previously in order to position the filter plug in the cigarette assembly. The positioning of the filter plug in the cigarette assembly is efiected in the inventive cigarette by the glued connection between the projecting filter plug and the enclosing connecting band.

According to the method of the present invention, it is possible to utilize commercially available mouthpieces such as, for instance, mouthpieces manufactured in the strand manufacturing process, whereby the respective filter mouthpieces are cut from filter rods, with the only difieronce that the filter rods are not glued to the enclosing tubular wrapper, which further facilitates the manufacturing of recessed filter tip mouthpieces.

The method of manufacturing, according to the invention, consists in that a filter rod of double the length of that of the filter body in a finished cigarette is placed etween two cigarette bodies disposed in axial alignment spaced from each other in such manner that at both ends of the cigarette bodies are provided gaps between the cigarettes and the filter body. The length of these gaps corresponds to the length of the respective recesses in the filter tip mouthpieces. The cigarette bodies are then connected in known manner bya connecting band. The cigarette group thus formed is then cut through the center i the filter body and the cut cigarette groups are moved axially away from each other. Subsequently the cut filter plugs are pushed out of the enclosing tubular wrappers towards the adjacent ends of the cigarette bodies into the hollow spaces provided between the cigarette bodies and the filter body.

Since the inside surface of the connecting band enclosing the hollow spaces is glue-coated, the pushed-in filter plug material projecting from the tubular wrapper will be glued to the connecting band, thus firmly positioning the filter plug in the cigarette assembly.

The hollow spaces are of a larger diameter than the inner diameter of the tubular wrapper by a double thick ness of the tubular wapper, so that the filter plug material projecting from the tubular wrapper, filling out said a hollow spaces, will further improve the hold of the filter plugs in the cigarette assembly.

The inventive method is preferably carried out on cigarette machines which are used for connecting filter mouthpieces to cigarette bodies whereby the cigarette assemblies are conveyed laterally to their longitudinal axis. A filter body of double the required length is placed on the conveying means between two cigarette bodies spaced from each other. The cigarette bodies are then connected with the filter body by a connecting band wrapped around same and are cut in the middle or the filter body by cutting means provided in the cigarette machine. Additional devices in the cigarette machine, known in the art, will axially move the cut cigarette groups apart from each other. Subsequently the filter bodies are pushed out of their tubular wrappers by mechanical or pneumatic means provided in the cigarette machine.

Further objects and advantages will readily become apparent upon reading the following specification taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, showing on an enlarged scale the cigarette assembly and the dilferent stages of the method of making the recessed filter tip cigarette. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of the recessed filter tip cigarette assembly; t

FIG. 2 shows a sectional view of two cigarette bodies with a filter body placed between them, in the first stage of the inventive method;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the two cigarette bodies connected by a conecting band with the filter body in the second stage of the inventive method;

FIG. 4 shows a sectional view of the cigarette groups after same were cut and shifted apart from each other, in the next stage of the inventive method, and FIG. 5 shows a sectional view of the cuocfi groups with the filter plugs pushed out of their enclosing tubular Wrappers towards the adjacent ends of the cigarette bodies, in the final stage of the inventive method.

Referring now to the drawing and more particularly t FlG. 1 thereof, the reference numeral 1 designates the cigarette body. The filter plug 2 is enclosed by a tubular wrapper 3 whichis made of stiff paper or cardboard. The connecting band d is wrapped around the cigarette body 1 and the tubular Wrapper 3. The filter plug 2 projects out of the wrapper 3 into a space 5 pro vided between thecigarette body and the tubular wrapper 3, expanding slightly and filling out the hollow space 5, thus forming a firm hold be ween the cigarette body 1 and the wrapper 3 positioning same in thecigarette assembly by gluing them together by the connecting band 4. The inventive connection or" the soft cigarette body with the stifi Wrapper can be clearly seen in the drawing in that the cigarette body 1 is connected at the first point 6 with the relatively stifi filter plug 2, and at the second connecting point '7 the relatively stifi" filter plug 2 is connected to the stiff tubular wrapper 3, thus provided a smooth and firm connection of the cigarette assembly. The pushed out projecting filter'plug 2 will provide a recess 9 at the end 8 of the filter mouthpiece of predetermined desired length which corresponds to the length of the hollow space 5.

The inventive method is shown in FIGS. 2 to 5. in order to simplify the drawing and to show more clearly the difierent stages of the inventive method, all the machine parts were omitted and only the cigarettes themselves and their respective arrangement are shown. The first stage of the method is shown in FIG. 2, wherein 'the two cigarette bodies 1 are disposed in a groove of a conveying means (not shown) at a predetermined distance from each other. The filter body it of double the length of the filter bodies in finished cigarettes is symmetrically placed between the cigarette bodies 1. The filter body It comprises a filter plug 2 enclosed by a tubular wrapper 3.. The hollow spaces 11 between the cigarette bodies 1 and the filter body it} correspond to the recesses 9 in the finished cigarette assembly.

enclosed in the cut tubular wrapper 3a, respectively, 3b,

the cigarette assemblies being connected by theconnecting band 4a, respectively 4b. The cut assemblies can 7 be moved axially apart, for instance, by a wedge-shaped guiding plate (not shown), in known manner, and subsequently. conveyed to a special device in the cigarette machine (not shown), wherein the filter plugs 2a and 2b are pushed out of their enclosing tubular wrappers 3a and 3b. As shown in FIG. 5, representing the final stage of the inventive process, plugs 2a and 2b abut the ends of the cigarette bodies 1 in the two finished filter tip cigarettes, the filter filling out the hollow space 11. The connecting bands 4a, respectively, 412 firmly connect the cigarette assemblies, leaving the desired recesses 9. at the ends 8 of the filter tip mouthpieces.

The projecting parts 5 of the filter plugs 2a, respectively glued inner coating of the connecting bands 4a respectively 4b, providing an improved and advanatgeous passage from the soft cigarette body to the stifi cardboard Wrapper.

From the foregoing description, it will be apparent that there is provided a substantially improved recessed filter tip cigarette and a method of manufacturing the recessed filter tip cigarettes which method is ellicient and economical, uitlizes already existing machines and permits of the manufacturing of the improved recessed filter tip cigarettes.

Although there has been shown and described an improved process of making recessed filter tip cigarettes, it is to be clearly understood that the same was merely for the purpose of illustration, and that changes and modifications may be made therein by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

What 1 claim is:

l. A method of manufacturing cigarettes having a recessed filter tip mouthpiece including the steps of disposing two cigarette bodies in spaced axial alignment, plac ing a filter tip assembly comprising a tubular wrapper and a filter body therein in the space between said axially aligned cigarette bodies and leaving a gap between each of the two opposed ends of the cigarette bodies and the ends of the filter tip assembly, uniting the cigarette bodies and the filter tip assembly by a connecting band wrapped about the cigarette bodies and filter tip assembly, cutting the so formed filter tip cigarette group in the center of the filter u'p assembly, axially moving the severed filter cigarette groups apart from each other, pushing the sevred filter body of each group into their tubular wrappers towards said cigarette bodies until the filter bodies abuts the end of said cigarette bodies.

2. A method of manufacturing cigarettes having a recessed filter tip mouthpiece including the steps of dispos ing two cigarette bodies in spaced axial alignment, placing a filter tip assembly comprising a tubular Wrapper and a filter body therein in the space between said axially aligned cigarette bodies the length of said plug being double of that of two filter bodies in a finished cigarette and leaving a gap between each of the two opposed ends of the cigarette bodies and the ends of the filter tip assembly by a connecting band wrapped about the cigarette bodies and the filter tip assembly, cutting the so formed filter tip cigarette group in the center of the filter tip assembly, axially moving the severed filter cigarette groups apart from each other, pushing the severed filter body of each group into their tubular wrappers towards said cigarette bodies until the filter bodies abut the end of said cigarette bodies. 7

3. A method of manufacturing cigarettes having a recessed filter tip mouthpiece including the steps of disposing two cigarette bodies in spaced axial alignment, placing a filter tip assembly comprising a tubular wrapper and a filter body therein in the space between said axially aligned cigarette bodies the length of said plug being double of that of two filter bodies in a finished cigarette and leaving a gap between each of the two opposed ends of the cigarette bodies and the ends of the filter tip assembly, the length of said gap being substantially equal to the length of the recess at the outer ends'of the filter tips of finished cigarettes, uniting the cigarette bodies and the filter tip assembly by a connecting band wrapped about the cigarette bodies and the filter tip assembly, cutting the so formed filter tip cigarette group in the center of the filter tip assembly, axially moving the severed filter cigarette groups apart from each other, pushing the severed filter body of each group into their tubular wrappers towards said cigarette bodies until the filter bodies abut the end of said cigarette bodies.

4. A method for manufacturing cigarettes having a recessed filter tip mouthpiece including the steps of dispos ing two cigarette bodies in spaced axial alignment, placing a filter tip assembly comprising a tubular wrapper and a filter body therein in the space between said axially aligned cigarette bodies the length of said plug being double of that of two filter bodies in a finished cigarette and leaving a gap between each of the two opposed ends of the cigarette bodies and the ends of the filter tip assembly, the length of said gap being substantially equal to the length of the recess at the outer ends of the filter tips of finished cigarettes, uniting the cigarette bodies and the filter tip assembly by a connecting band wrapped about the cigarette bodies and the filter tip assembly, cutting the so formed filter tip cigarette group in the center of the filter tip assembly, axially moving the severed filter cigarette groups apart from each other, pushing the severed filter body of each group into their tubular wrappers towards said cigarette bodies until the filter bodies abut the end of said cigarette bodies, said gaps having a diameter larger than the tubular wrapper by a double thick ness of said tubular wrapper.

5. A method of manufacturing cigarettes having a recessed filter tip mouthpiece including the steps of disposing two cigarette bodies in spaced axial alignment, placing a filter tip assembly comprising a tubular wrapper and a filter body therein in the space between said axially aligned cigarette bodies the length of said plug being double of that of two filter bodies in a finished cigarette and leaving a gap between each of the two opposed ends of the cigarette bodies and the ends of the filter tip assembly, the length of said gap being substantially equal to the length of the recess at the outer ends of the filter tips of finished cigarettes, uniting the cigarette bodies and the filter tip assembly by a connecting band wrapped about the cigarette bodies and the filter tip assembly, cutting the so formed filter tip cigarette group in the center of the filter tip assembly, axially moving the severed filter cigarette groups apart from each other, pushing the severed filter body of each group into their tubular wrappers towards said cigarette bodies until the filter bodies abut the end of said cigarette bodies, said gaps having a diameter larger than the tubular wrapper by a double thickness of said tubular wrapper, the filter bodies filling out said hollow gaps of larger diameter, said filter bodies being secured and firmly positioned in the finished filter tip cigarette assembly.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,150,512 May Mar. 14, 1939 2,152,416 Molins Mar. 28, 1939 2,904,049 Korber Sept. 15, 1959 2,918,923 Morris Dec. 29, 1959 

